FICTION WEEKLY with Mazeed Mukhtar Oyeleye: Unlettered Missives [episode 12]

Hauwa, …

“Do you think I do not love Emeka or that he didn’t confess to being head over heels in love with me, time and again?” Grace continued without waiting for a reply to her last question.

“Emeka and Bolaji are different,” Fatima maintained, keeping her voice low.

“But they are friends? Not just friends self. They are best of friends. Wake up, Fati!” she tried to knock some sense into her head.

“I am awake, Grace. Bolaji loves me, and I can see and feel it,” she insisted, without the usual confidence she had whenever she argued.

“I can see you are not asleep. Well done! Bolaji loves you, Uhn? Why did he not introduce you to his mom, despite telling you on three occasions that she visited Sokoto and checked up on him? Have you forgotten how worried you were when Emeka introduced me to his mother?” Grace asked a question that surprised you; these girls are in serious relationships - you had dated three guys but never met their mothers, and Grace was claiming to have met her ex’s mother.

“Wow! Grace,” you exclaimed.

“What?” the girls’ attention shifted to you.

“No problem at all. I am only surprised that you met with your boyfriend’s mother. I never met any of the mothers of my boyfriends,” you laid their curiosity to rest - you told the sad truth.

“Well, Yeah. But that is if the woman he introduced as his mother is truly his mother. I do not trust that guy anymore,” she said, depressed.

“Stop being silly, Grace. That was his mother. Bolaji cleared the air on that already,” Fatima voiced her irritation at her statement.

“What if Bolaji was only covering up for his friend? Have you not thought of that possibility?” she fired back.

“And that would mean they are the same. Two-faced floozies,” you had put in, though absent-mindedly.

“If you know the extent of Emeka’s dishonesty, you would not be saying all of these,” Grace added.

You noticed that she suddenly decided against saying something - she looked like she was trying to hide some big secret.

“What should I do now?”Fatima asked helplessly.

“We have shared our idea with you, or do you have a better one?” you asked her.

“The thought of tests scares me. You know I do not do well in tests. What if Bolaji fails?” Fatima asked.

“Bolaji does not like me, but I won’t deny that he is damn smart. I shouldn’t be the one telling you this, Fati. You know better. He will not fail if he loves you as much as you claim,” Grace said, trying to convince her it was her best bet.

“If he is genuine, he will not fail, in shaa Allah!” you assured her.

“Ameen!” they chorused.

Alas, she agreed. You rolled out your ‘foolproof’ plan, and the girls made a few tweaks. When she sated with the arrangements, she phoned Bolaji.

“Bolaji, we need to talk!” Fatima declared, feigning coldness.

to be continued…

 

Do you think Bolaji not introducing Fatima to his mother is a red flag?

 

Do you think Fatima will regret agreeing to test Bolaji?

 

What else do you think?

 

The comment section is all yours; let us read all of your thoughts!

 

First timer? Worry not!

Catch up on the prequels you missed here

  

P.S: This work is purely fictional. Any semblance to actual persons (living or late), places, or events are merely figments of the writer’s attempt at keeping in touch with reality.

✌🏾 Sala kakuhle!